Using plants at home

One of the things I love best about my house is that it's situated in a neighborhood full of trees.  Trees are my favorite thing in the created world, I think.  And I like the little sisters of trees, too--all kinds of plants.  Plants, flowers--you name it; I like it.  Here's the view from my back deck.

While I love all that beauty outside, I spend a lot of time INside my house.  So I like to add plants to indoor landscape, too.

I start at the front door.  My front porch is shaded, but coleus do just fine in the shade.  By the end of the summer these pots will be overflowing!

Inside the front door, nestled by the antique deacon's bench:

As a simple but elegant centerpiece on the dining room table:

I have plants tucked here and there in less prominent places, too, such as beside the kitchen sink:

On a side table in my bedroom:

Or in the corner of the guest room. (I always add fresh flowers when guests are here, but I like to have a live plant in this room all the time.)

Those last two photos display one of my favorite plant tricks.  Plants need light, but the light doesn't have to come from the sun.  If you want to add greenery to a dark spot in your home, place a plant under a lamp.  The plant will happily grow toward the glow of the light bulb.  Another favorite trick?  Add some moss to hide the exposed dirt in which the plant is growing.  This will give your plants a little nicer, more "finished" look.

Need a foolproof plant?  One of the easiest house plants to grow is golden pothos.  Its heart-shaped leaves are lovely and it grows nice and full.  That's the plant on my dining room table.  It's not finicky at all.  It'll look a little droopy occasionally, which means it needs a little water.  Then it perks right back up and keeps on growing.

Another favorite houseplant is spathiphyllum, sometimes called peace lily.  The great thing about this plant is that it'll tell you loud and clear if it needs water.  Here's how it looks if it's thirsty:

And here's the same plant a couple of hours later:



As you can see, I have plants growing in baskets and pots of all kinds.  Don't let the baskets fool you; for the most part, they contain plants growing in cheap plastic pots.  I line the baskets with plastic bags and just plop in the cheap pots.  Instant beauty!  Also, if you need planters and like the look of aged terra cotta pots, you might want to check out my tutorial on making your own.  You can make any size you need for very little money and just a few minutes of time.

Do you have plants in your home?  What's your favorite?

I'm joining the Nester's Planty Party.  You'll find lots of inspiration there!